Ye Olden Days

Shorts from this early in a character's development are pretty fascinating to see just how radically they change over the years. Here, Mickey Mouse's personality of sweet everyman seems to be slowly forming. His romance with Minnie and her friendship with Clarabelle Cow are all present. The most radical departure here, and something that is a little odd to see considering how things turned out, is Mickey and Goofy (still called "Dippy Dawg" here) being on opposing sides.

"Ye Olden Days" tells a charming enough story, even if it isn't that memorable after a single viewing. Mickey is a wandering minstrel who stumbles upon an arranged marriage between Princess Minnie and Prince Goofy. He serenades her outside her window and the next thing you know he's challenging Goofy for her hand in marriage, an oddball/slapstick-heavy fight ensues and the short is over with Mickey and Minnie riding off into the sunset and "Happily ever after" together.

It's fairly routine, nicely animated, but like many shorts of the era, especially the Silly Symphonies type from Disney, stuffed to bursting with unmemorable songs. I guess they felt like something must always be being said or done in a cartoon to keep your attention. It's never rising to truly great status at any given moment, but it's a solidly built little machine that runs smoothly and performs its assigned tasks well.